"While other people would enjoy a mountain view, I enjoy a starry view," he said. "I just love the stars."

Now is an especially exciting time for stargazers, with the approach of the Perseid Meteor Shower, which will light up the sky overnight Aug. 11-12 and 12-13. Borchardt — who has been a member of the astronomical society for 47 years — calls it "the best show of the year."

What makes it the best show?

"It's a rich debris field," Borchardt said. Comets are always shedding matter, he explained. As they approach the sun, they start to melt. The dirt that doesn't melt falls off and gets left in its orbit.

When the earth comes along in its orbit and passes through this debris field, the dirt creates meteors.

We have the comet Swift-Tuttle to thank for this shower, Borchardt said..

How did the Perseid shower get its name?

In the early morning, it looks like the meteors are coming from the constellation Perseus, in the northeast part of the sky, although Borchardt was quick to note, "That's just an illusion."

It appears this way because of the earth's rotation, he said. After midnight, we are on the leading side, going through space.

"That's when a lot of the debris gets swept up and comes in from that same direction," he said.

All big meteor showers are named after the constellations they look like they're coming from.

What's the best way to view it?

"Look up and look often," Borchardt said.

He said to bring a lawn chair or pad the hood of your car with blankets and pillows and lean against the windshield.

The best observing angle is northeast overhead, he said.

You don't want to look directly at the radiant, where the meteors are starting from, he said.

"Watch from the streak over your head," he said.

The best viewing hours are from midnight to twilight Aug. 11-12 and Aug. 12-13.

Whatever you do, don't look down.

"You don't want to see your shadow cast on the ground because that means you just missed a really bright one," he said. "I've been there."

You won't need equipment like binoculars or a telescope, but he did recommend packing beverages and snacks.

What are ideal viewing conditions?

"This is like the best it gets this year," Borchardt said. "There's no moon, (and) it's on a weekend; it should be a good display of meteors."

He said the moon wrecks meteor-watching.

"We're lucky that the peak of the shower happens to be during a moon phase that there is no moon after midnight," he said. Dark and clear skies are important.

How many meteors are we talking?

Forty to 60 meteors will occur in an hour, Borchardt said.

He said there will be about a half-dozen prominent ones within that hour.

"All it takes is for the debris to be the size of a baseball to form a major, bright meteor," he said. "Most of the meteors you see are grains of sand-sized."

What else can you spot in the skies during this time of the year?

After midnight, the Milky Way starts in the southwest, comes up and crosses directly overhead and goes down into the southeast, Borchardt said.

"It's a band that fills the entire sky," he said.

If you can locate the Milky Way, Cygnus "the swan," which looks like a cross with four stars up and three across, is right in it.

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